TEACHING
Teaching and training are at the core of my professional activities. In addition to the courses listed below‚ I participate in a large number of courses, workshops, and seminars at University of Wisconsin-Madison and elsewhere focused on infectious disease, animal and human health, global health, conservation, epidemiology, and evolutionary biology. Outside of the classroom, I endeavor to provide individualized‚ directed learning opportunities to all of my students.
Veterinary Epidemiology. I teach the principles and uses of epidemiology and biostatistics in the practice of veterinary medicine. The goal is to equip veterinary students with the basic tools necessary to evaluate the validity of statistically based scientific results‚ to understand health and disease in an ecological context‚ to understand and evaluate disease occurrence rates and diagnostic testing strategies‚ and to understand the principles on which causal inference and risk analysis are based.
Conservation Medicine and Ecosystem Health. I provide students with an introduction to the use of medical reasoning and technology in the investigation of problems related to conservation biology and ecosystem health. Topics include such issues as the biology and evolutionary origins of emerging pathogens‚ vector-borne disease ecology and control‚ global amphibian population declines‚ ecological toxicology‚ and wildlife and zoological medicine.
Global Health. I introduce students to key concepts of global health. Teaching in global health is followed by intensive field experiences to provide students in health-related disciplines the opportunity to spend time in community-based health care centers, hospitals, nutritional units, schools, and field sites. In addition, students interact with faculty, staff, and students from host nations. At the same time, I host foreign students for coursework at the University of Wiscosin-Madison and for training in my laboratory.
Disease, Society and Evolution. I impress upon my students that infectious disease has impacted the evolution of life on our planet, including the evolution of our own species. Using historical, phylogenetic, and comparative methods, we explore how infection has shaped biology and society, both recently and in the ancient past. Drawing on comparisons from non-human primates and other social animals, we examine how infection has exerted fundamental, but often under-appreciated, effects on our bodies, minds, and culture. Appreciating these effects improves our understanding of the human condition.
